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My chat with “Music Within” star Ron Livingston…

Ron Livingston probably wants people to seperate fact from fiction when it comes to his more famous roles. But sometimes that’s not an easy thing to do for people like me.

Ron was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance in “Band of Brothers,” had major roles in the cult faves “Office Space” and “Swingers,” and is the leading man in the drama “Music Within” out on DVD this week.

So what do I want to ask him about? How could he break up with Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica-Parker) on “Sex and the City” by Post-it note?

OK, it wasn’t really Ron but his character, Jack Berger, who broke things off in such a spineless way in a classic episode of the series being revived with a feature film next month.

Ron only did eight episodes of “Sex” but it’s a role he still gets recognized for all over the world.

“I’ve never had a part that was so far-reaching,” Ron said Thursday. “I’ve had flight attendants in Singapore who barely speak English who know the show.”

He doesn’t mind one bit.

“It’s a great thing,” he said. “I was really fond of that character and proud to be a part of that show. As we get closer to the movie coming out, I think people are revisiting it.

He called to talk about “Music” which tells the real-life story of Richard Pimentel, an uncommonly gifted public speaker with a very troubled past that included a mentally unstable mother who abandoned him through much of his life. Lacking any college prospects, he enlists and becomes severely hearing impaired after an explosioin in Vietnam. He eventually finds a new purpose in his landmark efforts on the behalf of Americans with disabilities.

“Ultimately, it’s really about a guy who kind of comes to grips with accepting himself with a lot of his imperfections,” the actor said. “Our disabilities and our abilities are the same thing. It’s our disabilities that highlight and strengthen our abilities, it’s not the negative things that define us, it’s the abilities side.”

When he took on the role, Ron (pictured in a scene from the movie, left) thought he would have to delve into the world of being hearing impaired in order to portray Pimentel:”I had to throw all that out the window as soon as I met Richard because there was nothing that he does to let you know that he’s deaf,” he said. “That’s part of the story, the amazng thing. He worked in the workplace for a few years not disclosing that he was deaf and got away with it. He just reads lips that well.”

“Music” got some solid reviews but didn’t make any kind of splash at the box office last year. Ron isn’t worried though, he believes in movies gaining an audience over time.

“I’ve had great experiences with movies between ‘Swingers’ and ‘Office Space.’ I always feel that people find the movies that they want to find. They’re out there. This movie, I think, is the kind of thing that gets under people’s skin and fools them. It looks like an eat-your-vegetables movie and it’s really not. It’s a fun movie to watch.

VIDEO BONUS: Here’s a clip from the “Sex and the City” episode when Berger tells Miranda: “He’s just not that into you”